


Knightly Virtues

by PeroxidePirate



Category: Tortall - Pierce
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-06
Updated: 2010-02-06
Packaged: 2017-10-07 01:36:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 1,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/59985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeroxidePirate/pseuds/PeroxidePirate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Uline of Hannalof made a point of seeking out Page Keladry of Mindelan to offer encouragement and support. What if there was more to it than that?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Courtesy

**Author's Note:**

> A series of seven ficlets written for the 2010 Tortall Smackdown at the Goldenlake Forum, http://fiefgoldenlake.proboards.com/ .

"Keladry!"

Kel turned . "Lady Uline." She bowed; Uline curtseyed.

"On your way to the banquet?"

"Yes – well, to the briefing with Master Oakbridge, first."

"I'm headed that direction." Uline fell into step beside her. "Do they assign you the same tables each night?"

"It depends. They mean to, but if someone complains, it throws the whole arrangement off."

Uline looked down, then slyly up at Kel. "I hope no one complains. Then I'll get to see you every night."

A surprised smile pulled at the corners of Kel's mouth. "I hope so, too."


	2. Devotion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alcoves. Curtains. Fluff.

"Do you like me?" Uline asked, voice oddly soft.

"Of course!" The banquet was over; in an empty hallway, Uline had cornered Kel before she could head to the pages' dining room.

"Then come on." She grabbed Kel's hand, towing her toward an alcove.

"What--?"

The curtain closed on them, and before Kel could finish her question, Uline's lips were on hers and Uline's arms were around her neck.

Kel's astonishment quickly gave way to pleasure. When Uline would have released her, Kel pushed forward, automatically resting one hand on the older girl's waist while the other tangled in her dark hair.

"I like you, too," Uline whispered.

"I never guessed," Kel teased. She leaned in for another kiss.


	3. Prudence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kel's friends are nosy, and she can't keep secrets from Neal.

"And where were you?" Merric asked, as Kel slid into her seat.

"Nowhere." She could feel a blush creeping onto her cheeks, but she ignored it. "Soup again? That's Midwinter for you."

Neal peered at her, eyes questioning, and she looked away.

"You're late for supper," Merric insisted. "Mussed. And blushing. Who is he?"

"There is no he, all right? It was... something else. Just drop it, please."

"The soup is traditional," Neal interjected. "It goes back to the time of King Roger I."

The others began to argue about food, and Kel gave Neal a small, grateful smile.

Later, Neal walked Kel back to her room and followed her inside. "All right," he said, arms crossed over his chest. "Who?"

If she refused to answer, he would end up imagining something far worse. "Uline of Hannalof."

Neal's jaw dropped.


	4. Temperance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neal tries to convince Kel she's making a mistake.

"Why are you so surprised?" Kel asked, trying to remain calm – one of them had to, and Neal certainly wasn't.

"This is your Yamani upbringing again, isn't it? You've been led to believe it's not important who you go to bed with--"

"I didn't go to bed with Uline!" Kel interrupted. "Not exactly. I mean..." She trailed off, face flushing, as she remembered the specifics.

Neal threw up his hands. "Well, that makes it all better, then."

"Neal, I'm a female page. People are going to talk about anything I do. Why is this any different?"

"Because I can't threaten Uline with a duel if she mistreats you."

"She's a Queen's Lady – if you go for polearms, she could hold her own."

"But she's a lady."

"As am I. Yet you have no problem--"

"No, Kel, you're a page."

"Then I don't need another page protecting my honor. And she's not going to 'mistreat' me. We're just playing."

Neal's face went soft with affection. "I forgot. This is your first romance, isn't it?"

"You know it is."

"Take it from someone who's been there: at the end, it always hurts."

"Fine. But it doesn't hurt now."


	5. Nobility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uline shares her dreams. Kel offers to make some of them come true.

"I wanted to be a page, you know," Uline mused. The day after Midwinter ended, she and Kel were walking the palace grounds. The pages had been given a holiday, and – to the annoyance of Neal and her other friends – Kel had promised to spend the entire day with Uline.

"You'd have just had your Ordeal," Kel said, surprised.

"It would have been next winter," Uline corrected. "My birthday is late in the year."

"Lady Knight Uline of Hannalof?" Kel said, with a careful curtsy. They both giggled.

"I wish I had chosen that," Uline insisted. "I would pick you as my squire. We could ride together... travel together..." she leaned closer, voice dropping to a whisper. "Sleep together."

Kel's heart beat faster. It was ridiculous, of course – training for knighthood was serious business, not an excuse for romance. But the picture Uline painted had a definite appeal.

She gathered her courage, then said, "We could do some of that anyway."

"Page Keladry, are you teasing me?"

Kel looked her in the eye. "Not a bit."

Uline slowly smiled, heat building in her dark eyes. "My room's this way."


	6. Humility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kel's happy, and then she's not.

"My lady," Kel whispered, voice reverent. It was nearly evening, and they had been together all day, but still she was reluctant to leave. Uline's bed was wide and soft, surrounded by plush curtains that shut out everything else. Kel lay back against the pillows, Uline's head resting against her chest.

"My lady," Uline echoed, kissing Kel's shoulder.

"I don't want to go," Kel said.

Uline smiled.

"Could we have supper brought up?"

"I think that could be arranged." Uline brushed the hair back from the younger girl's face. "But Kel, I'll be leaving Corus soon," she added, somberly.

Kel tried and failed to keep the disappointment from her face.

"Her Majesty goes to Port Caynn to welcome the Carthaki delegation," Uline explained. "And you'll be back to your training tomorrow, anyway."

"We could still make time..."

"Could we?"

Kel tried to think of it, realistically: outside of the holidays, would a page's life ever leave time for days like this? And if they were reduced to hurried canoodling in alcoves and between lessons, would that be enough?

She didn't want to disturb Uline, so instead of shifting position, as she wanted to, she just turned her head away and closed her eyes.

"I never meant for this to go so far." Uline's graceful fingers traced the shape of Kel's face.

"No?" Kel asked, fighting bitterness. "It's just something that happened? I'm just something that happened?"

"Kel, no! I really like you. But I didn't mean to start something I knew would have to end."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have kissed me." Kel got up and began to gather her things.


	7. Endurance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, all you can do is hang on.

Kel lay in her own bed, resolutely ignoring Jump, the sparrows, and her growling stomach. She'd missed supper in the pages' mess, and couldn't stay with Uline after the older girl told her it would be their last time.

It was all true: every word Uline had said, every reason she'd given for why it couldn't last. It was, as Kel had reassured Neal in the beginning, just playing.

Neal's words were true, too: it was over now. And it hurt.

Someone knocked on the door.

Kel sighed. "Go away," she called. "I wasn't at dinner because I'm not feeling well. I'll be fine tomorrow. Go away."

"Kel?" It was Neal. "I'm alone. Are you all right?"

Reluctantly, she sat up. "Come in."

He seemed to take one look at her and know exactly what had happened. Regardless of rules, he pushed the door closed.

"You tried to tell me," she said dully.

He shrugged. "Some things you have to find out for yourself."

"Uline's leaving." Kel felt her Yamani mask slip away. "She's leaving Corus, and leaving me."

"I'm sorry, Kel." Her best friend crossed the room in two strides, wrapped his arms around her, and held her while she cried.


End file.
